Introduction

It's Halloween and that means only one thing - Jack, the czar of Halloween, is coming to town! That's right, he's coming to your town! The problem is, he's not the only pumpkin-headed character that will be wandering around the patch. Jack has recruited your villagers to work for him on All Hallows Eve, and their mission is to take as much Candy from you as possible. However, Jack has recruited you too! So, let the fun begin.....

Date: 31st OctoberTime: 6:00pm - Midnight

During All Hallows Eve you are able to acquire items, some of which are unorderable, in exchange for giving Candy and Lollipops to give to Jack. You are also able to collect special items from the villagers, both those that are outside and those who are in their homes, by playing and losing mini-games during Trick or Treat.

The items that can be acquired during the evening from Jack and the villagers, are:

Preparation throughout October

The first time you play in October, you will find Jack wandering around your town. This is when he recruits you to work for him on Halloween. In addition, he'll provide you with one of the masks you will need on Halloween night and advise you to purchase Candy and Halloween masks during the month. He also tells you how he especially likes Lollipops.

Candy? Masks? Lollipops?

Throughout the month of October you can purchase pieces of Candy at the Nooklings' shop. Candy has orange and white striping on the wrapper, and mention of this throughout the guide refers to the actual item of Candy and not Lollipops, which are a different type of Candy entirely. A single piece of Candy is available daily from the Nooklings' shop for the cost of 400 bells. Also, throughout October you can purchase one Halloween mask daily from Labelle at the Able Sisters' shop for 1,031 bells - which is also the date format for Halloween in some countries, 10/31. Spooky!

The Halloween masks available are:

Bug Mask
Ghost Mask
Monster Mask
Mummy Mask
Skull Hood
Werewolf Hood

You will need the Halloween masks in order to scare indoor villagers into giving you a Lollipop during the Halloween event.

Other items you should stock up on during October are a hat, a one-piece, a pair of pants or skirt, a shirt, and a pair of shoes - all of which you should be willing to lose during the Halloween event. This is because villagers will at times take an item of your clothing and replace it with a collectible Patched equivalent. If you'd like to acquire those Patched items during Halloween night, you will need to ensure that you wear a one-piece to obtain the Patched Dress, a hat to obtain the Patched Hat, pants or a skirt to obtain the Patched Pants, a shirt to obtain the Patched Shirt, and shoes to obtain the Patched Shoes at some point during the Halloween event. Only one of the clothing items you are wearing will randomly be chosen to be turned into a patched item, so if you are going for a particular item, only wear the corresponding clothing item and wear patterns for all of the other items.

In addition to selling a piece of Candy daily during October, the Nooklings will sell a furniture item from the Spooky Series every day along with either the Spooky Wall or Spooky Carpet. All items in the Spooky Series can be bought for 4,124 bells each. The Spooky Series furniture items sold are random and it isn't guaranteed that you will collect every piece. If you miss out on some items, you can complete your collection during Halloween and sell any duplicates later at Re-Tail for 1,031 bells.

It's worth noting that although you can successfully participate on Halloween without advance purchases of Spooky Series items, pieces of Candy, masks, or clothes and shoes, it is significantly easier if you stock up before the night. Purchasing Halloween related items throughout October ensures that you spend time on the night obtaining items available exclusively during the Halloween event.

A final bit of preparation can be done on the night itself if you really want to be cheeky. At about 5:45pm you can track down all the villagers who are outside and dig holes around them to keep them trapped. You might be glad you did...

Halloween night

Tracking Jack

At 6pm on the 31st of October, the fun begins. Whether you have trapped your villagers or not, they are all out to get everything from you. Ensure you are wearing clothes and shoes you are willing to lose and empty your pockets of valuables. It also helps to keep some empty letters on hand for hidden storage.

So, time to find Jack?

Before you do, first look at the four reasons there are to track down Jack:

To give him a Lollipop in exchange for an item from the Creepy Theme.

To give him a piece of Candy in exchange for an item from the Spooky Series.

To give him nothing and make him mad enough to give you a collectible Pumpkin Head.

To give him Candy in return for a Halloween mask with which to frighten your indoor villagers into giving you a Lollipop.

If for any reason you didn't manage to bump into Jack at any point in October, your first meeting with him on Halloween night will result in his recruitment speech. After he speaks to you and disappears with a somersault, you will have to scour your town looking for him. In fact, every time you track down Jack and speak to him, he will disappear in a puff of smoke and you will have to find him again. This is incredibly time consuming, which is why it is wise to prepare in advance by buying Halloween masks, Spooky Series items and pieces of Candy daily. This means that by the time Halloween rolls around you can concentrate on getting only the items that are available during the event itself.

If you've not trapped the villagers who are outside, you will have to avoid them while you look for Jack because, unfortunately, they are all Jack look-a-likes. As if it wasn't difficult enough to find Jack, the villagers are dressed in purple and black robes too, just like Jack. The only difference is that they will be sporting pumpkin heads that are differently colored, unorderable, and collectible. Where Jack has an orange colored pumpkin head, the villagers wear pumpkin heads that are green, purple, red or yellow. The yellow heads can be tricky because they can be confused with Jack's orange one. However, the eyes and mouths of the pumpkin heads all differ slightly from each other. Jack has a symmetrical smile and is about the same height as your player.

Once you've heard the recruitment speech from Jack, the first time you run into him can be unexpected because Jack, and the villagers, come at you with quite some pace during Halloween night. It is also highly unlikely that you'd have acquired a Lollipop at the beginning of the night, so you won't have anything but Candy to offer him. Whether you are carrying Candy or not, you may as well refuse to give Jack any so that you can be punished with a collectible pumpkin head. Just make sure you aren't wearing a hat, otherwise you'll receive a patched hat instead.

You should have Candy if you've been buying it during the month, but the only reason to track down Jack to give him Candy is if you've not completed your Spooky Series, or if you've not managed to acquire all the Halloween masks. If that's the case, load up with Candy and get going with finding Jack. In exchange for Candy, Jack offers you a choice of a Halloween mask or an item from the Spooky Series.

Once you have acquired the Pumpkin Head and completed your Spooky Series, plus obtained any masks you needed, it's time to concentrate on getting the Creepy items from Jack. However, in order to obtain the Creepy items you will need to give Jack Lollipops, and to acquire the Lollipops you will need to frighten the villagers who are inside their home.

Trick . . .

If you didn't manage to buy any Candy in advance of the event, or have run out of it during the evening, talk to any villager and they will ask "Trick or treat?" Respond with "trick", and the villager will play one of the following three mini-games with you:

Rock, Paper, Scissors - This is a game of chance. You and the villager choose either rock, paper or scissors. Rock will beat Scissors, Scissors will beat Paper, and Paper will beat Rock. If both you and the villager choose the same item, it is a tie and you play again. The game will continue until one of you wins.

Made Ya Look - This is another game of chance. Use the arrow on the D-Pad to guess the direction that the villager will look. If you look in a different direction to the villager, you lose. If you look in the same direction as the villager, you win.

Charades - This is the easiest game but you must ensure that your character is standing to one side so that you can see the villager. The villager gives you a riddle but replaces some words with emotions. You are then asked a question and given a choice of potential answers from which to choose the correct reply.

You should note that villagers outside will play with you no matter how you are dressed. However, villagers inside will only play if you hide your identity by wearing a Halloween mask that doesn't scare them.

Whether playing inside or outside, if you lose a villager's mini-game, a piece of your clothing will be replaced with the patched version of that clothing - if there is a patched equivalent. So, if you are wearing a hat, shoes, shirt and trousers, you may receive either the patched hat, patched shoes, patched shirt or the patched trousers. If you are wearing patterns for clothes or no shoes, you cannot get the patched clothing or shoes. Instead, something in your pockets will be replaced with a Jack-in-the-Box, Old Wallpaper, or Old Flooring.

If you lose a mini-game to a villager who is outside wearing a green, purple, red or yellow pumpkin head, you will receive a pumpkin head in the same color as the one the villager is wearing. However, if you are wearing a hat or are already wearing any colored pumpkin head, and either the entire patched outfit, or wearing items that can't be replaced with a patched version, then a Jack-in-the-Box, Old Wallpaper, or Old Flooring may replace something in your pockets. If your pockets are empty, one of these three items will be placed in your pockets for free.

If you win a mini-game with any villager, you will receive a piece of Candy.

. . . or Treat?

Already have plenty of Candy? Then why not choose "treat" when asked by a villager! If you do, they will share a secret with you in exchange for a piece of Candy. The secret will be a hidden fear of one of your other villagers. The information can be given in three ways. The first is to name a specific fear and then name two villagers who could have that fear. The second way is to name a specific villager, but also name two fears. The final way, which happens rarely, is to name one villager and a single fear. Although it is more frequent to be given a choice of two villagers or two fears, it still narrows it down for you. The fear always tells you which Halloween mask, or masks, to use on the named villager or villagers. This is important because it takes you a step closer to acquiring a Lollipop, which in turn will mean you can acquire pieces of the Creepy themed items.

Masks

Knowing the secret fear of your villagers means that you can frighten them by wearing one of the six Halloween masks. The masks only frighten villagers who are in their home, and each villager you successfully scare will reward you with a Lollipop.

Villager fears are specific to personality type and species, and there will be one mask in particular that will scare a villager. If you'd rather not waste Candy, or time, to discover which mask will frighten a particular villager, you can use the two tables below. Use the first table, with information provided by Liquefy, to look up the name of a villager you wish to frighten and find out their personality and species. Then use the second table to determine the mask you should use on a villager with that particular combination of personality and species.

Species

Cranky

Jock

Lazy

Smug

Normal

Peppy

Snooty

Big Sis

Alligators

Del

Sly

Alfonso, Drago

-

Gayle

-

Alli

-

Anteaters

Cyrano

Antonio

-

Olaf

Annalisa

Anabelle, Pango

-

-

Bear Cubs

Vladimir

Kody, Poncho

Barold, Chester, Pudge, Stitches

-

Maple, Pekoe

Bluebear, Cheri

-

Tammy

Bears

Chow, Curt, Grizzly, Groucho

Teddy

Nate

Beardo, Klaus

-

Pinky, Tutu

-

Charlise, Paula

Birds

-

Jay, Jitters, Peck, Sparro

Anchovy

Jacques,Lucha

Midge

Twiggy

Robin

-

Bulls & Cows

Angus, T-Bone, Vic

Coach

Rodeo

-

-

Patty

Naomi, Tipper

-

Cats

Kabuki, Tom

Kid Cat, Rudy, Stinky

Bob, Moe, Punchy

-

Kiki, Lolly, Mitzi

Felicity, Merry, Rosie, Tabby, Tangy

Ankha, Kitty, Monique, Olivia, Purrl

Katt

Chickens

Knox

Goose

Benedict, Egbert

Ken

Ava

-

Becky, Broffina

-

Deers

Bruce

Bam

Beau, Erik

Lopez, Zell

Fauna

-

Diana

Deirdre, Fuchsia

Dogs

Butch

Mac

Benjamin, Biskit, Bones, Lucky, Marcel, Walker

Shep

Daisy, Goldie

Cookie

Portia

Cherry

Ducks

-

Bill, Scout

Derwin, Drake, Joey

Quillson

Deena, Molly

Freckles, Pate, Pompom

Gloria, Maelle, Mallary, Miranda

-

Eagles

Apollo, Avery, Frank

Pierce, Sterling

-

Keaton

Celia

-

Amelia

-

Elephants

-

Axel

Big Top, Dizzy, Tucker

-

Margie, Tia

-

Eloise, Opal

-

Frogs

Camofrog, Croque, Wart Jr.

Cousteau, Drift, Frobert, Ribbot

Jeremiah, Prince

Henry

Jambette, Lily

Puddles

Gigi

Diva

Goats

Gruff

-

-

Kidd

Chèvre, Nan

-

Velma

Pashmina

Gorillas

Cesar, Peewee

Boone

Al

Hans

-

-

Violet

Rocket

Hamsters

Hamphrey

Hamlet

Clay

Graham, Rodney

Flurry

Apple

Soleil

-

Hippos

Harry, Rocco

Biff

-

Hippeux

Bertha

Bubbles

-

-

Horses

Roscoe

Buck

Clyde, Elmer, Papi

Colton, Ed, Julian

Peaches, Savannah

Victoria, Winnie

Annalise

-

Kangaroos

Rooney, Walt

-

-

-

Kitt, Marcie

-

Astrid, Mathilda

Sylvia

Koalas

-

Lyman

Ozzie

Eugene

Alice, Melba, Sydney

-

Yuka

Canberra

Lions

Elvis

Bud, Mott, Rory

-

Lionel

-

-

-

-

Mice

Limberg, Rizzo

Moose, Rod, Samson

Broccolo

Chadder

Bettina, Dora

Anicotti, Bella, Penelope

Bree, Greta

-

Monkeys

Monty

Flip

Dell, Simon

-

Nana

Tammi

Elise

Shari

Octopuses

Octavian

-

Zucker

-

Marina

-

-

-

Ostriches

-

-

Cranston

Phil

Gladys

Flora

Blanche, Queenie

Phoebe

Penguins

Hopper

Iggly, Roald

Boomer, Cube, Puck

Tex

Aurora

Sprinkle

Friga, Gwen

Flo

Pigs

Rasher

Cobb, Curly, Kevin

High, Spork

Chops

Gala, Lucy

Peggy, Truffles

Pancetti

Agnes

Rabbits

Gaston

Genji, Snake

Cole, Doc

O'Hare

Coco

Bonbon, Bunnie, Carmen, Chrissy, Dotty, Gabi, Pippy, Ruby

Francine, Tiffany

Mira

Rhinos

-

Tank

-

-

Merengue, Rhonda

-

-

Renée

Sheep

-

-

-

Curlos, Pietro

Eunice, Vesta

Wendy

Baabara, Timbra, Willow

Frita, Muffy

Squirrels

Ricky, Static

Sheldon

Filbert

Marshal

Cally, Caroline, Poppy, Sally

Agent S, Nibbles, Peanut

Blaire, Mint, Pecan

Hazel

Tigers

Rolf

Leonardo, Rowan

-

-

-

Bangle, Bianca

Claudia

-

Wolves

Chief, Fang, Lobo, Wolfgang

-

-

-

Skye

-

Freya, Whitney

-

Species

Cranky

Jock

Lazy

Smug

Normal

Peppy

Snooty

Big Sis

Alligators

Mummy Mask

Monster Mask

Bug Mask

-

Werewolf Hood

-

Ghost Mask

-

Anteaters

Bug Mask

Mummy Mask

-

Monster Mask

Skull Hood

Ghost Mask

-

-

Bear Cubs?

Bug Mask

Mummy Mask

Werewolf Hood

-

Mummy Mask

Skull Hood

-

Monster Mask

Bears?

Skull Hood

Monster Mask

Ghost Mask

Werewolf Hood

-

Mummy Mask

-

Skull Hood

Birds

-

Skull Hood

Mummy Mask

Bug Mask

Ghost Mask

Mummy Mask

Werewolf Hood

-

Bulls & Cows

Mummy Mask

Monster Mask

Ghost Mask

-

-

Werewolf Hood

Ghost Mask

-

Cats

Skull Hood

Ghost Mask

Monster Mask

-

Bug Mask

Werewolf Hood

Monster Mask

Mummy Mask

Chickens

Mummy Mask

Werewolf Hood

Skull Hood

Monster Mask

Monster Mask

-

Ghost Mask

-

Deers

Bug Mask

Mummy Mask

Werewolf Hood

Skull Hood

Werewolf Hood

-

Monster Mask

Ghost Mask

Dogs

Monster Mask

Skull Hood

Mummy Mask

Mummy Mask

Werewolf Hood

Bug Mask

Monster Mask

Ghost Mask

Ducks

-

Werewolf Hood

Monster Mask

Ghost Mask

Werewolf Hood

Bug Mask

Mummy Mask

-

Eagles

Ghost Mask

Bug Mask

-

Werewolf Hood

Mummy Mask

-

Skull Hood

-

Elephants

-

Monster Mask

Bug Mask

-

Skull Hood

-

Ghost Mask

-

Frogs

Mummy Mask

Bug Mask

Monster Mask

Werewolf Hood

Ghost Mask

Skull Hood

Werewolf Hood

Ghost Mask

Goats

Skull Hood

-

-

Monster Mask

Ghost Mask

-

Bug Mask

Mummy Mask

Gorillas

Monster Mask

Skull Hood

Mummy Mask

Ghost Mask

-

-

Werewolf Hood

Bug Mask

Hamsters

Skull Hood

Monster Mask

Mummy Mask

Bug Mask

Bug Mask

Werewolf Hood

Ghost Mask

-

Hippos

Monster Mask

Ghost Mask

-

Skull Hood

Bug Mask

Ghost Mask

-

-

Horses

Ghost Mask

Werewolf Hood

Skull Hood

Bug Mask

Monster Mask

Werewolf Hood

Mummy Mask

-

Kangaroos

Bug Mask

-

-

-

Werewolf Hood

-

Skull Hood

Mummy Mask

Koalas

-

Ghost Mask

Bug Mask

Monster Mask

Mummy Mask

-

Bug Mask

Werewolf Hood

Lions

Bug Mask

Ghost Mask

-

Monster Mask

-

-

-

-

Mice

Mummy Mask

Bug Mask

Werewolf Hood

Bug Mask

Ghost Mask

Monster Mask

Skull Hood

-

Monkeys

Skull Hood

Ghost Mask

Monster Mask

-

Monster Mask

Mummy Mask

Bug Mask

Ghost Mask

Octopuses

Werewolf Hood

-

Bug Mask

-

Skull Hood

-

-

-

Ostriches

-

-

Monster Mask

Mummy Mask

Bug Mask

Werewolf Hood

Mummy Mask

Skull Hood

Penguins

Monster Mask

Bug Mask

Werewolf Hood

Ghost Mask

Skull Hood

Skull Hood

Mummy Mask

Werewolf Hood

Pigs

Ghost Mask

Mummy Mask

Bug Mask

Werewolf Hood

Monster Mask

Monster Mask

Mummy Mask

Skull Hood

Rabbits

Werewolf Hood

Bug Mask

Ghost Mask

Bug Mask

Mummy Mask

Monster Mask

Skull Hood

Bug Mask

Rhinos

-

Skull Hood

-

-

Ghost Mask

-

-

Mummy Mask

Sheep

-

-

-

Werewolf Hood

Werewolf Hood

Werewolf Hood

Werewolf Hood

Werewolf Hood

Squirrels

Skull Hood

Mummy Mask

Werewolf Hood

Ghost Mask

Skull Hood

Bug Mask

Werewolf Hood

Monster Mask

Tigers

Skull Hood

Werewolf Hood

-

-

-

Ghost Mask

Monster Mask

-

Wolves

Werewolf Hood

-

-

Skull Hood

Mummy Mask

-

Bug Mask

-

Lollipops

After successfully scaring a villager at home, you will receive a Lollipop. You can receive only one Lollipop from each villager that is at home. Therefore, once you've been acquired a Lollipop from each of the handful of villagers that are home at the start of the event, you will need to save and quit, then reload the game to get different villagers at home. You may need to reload a few times to ensure that each of one of your villagers takes a turn to be at home.

Unfortunately, reloading the game will also mean that trapped villagers are no longer trapped. However, if you started the night by trapping villagers you will have saved a lot of time early on, and have a good chance of getting all the exclusive items in a shorter amount of time.

Jack will exchange each Lollipop you give him for an item from the Creepy Theme. However, there are 10 pieces in the Creepy Theme and you may not have 10 villagers in your town from which to obtain the required number of Lollipops. If you are able to WiFi, try to arrange a visit to another town to obtain more Lollipops. Alternatively, you can use a second character or try to complete your Creepy Theme collection next year.

Aftermath

So, you followed our guide above, got everything available from Halloween, and you're pleased with yourself. Time for a cheesy grin, no?

No! Time to shake your head.

Halloween comes at a cost. Here's the bad news.

Before you toddle off to Re-Tail to sell some of your haul, you may want to look at the table below that shows you which items will bring you some Bells at Re-Tail and which items will cost you a disposal fee. Apparently, Reese at Re-Tail isn't a big fan of all Halloween items...

Halloween Item

Bells paid at Re-Tail

Cost of Disposal

Creepy Bat Stone

500

-

Creepy Cauldron

900

-

Creepy Clock

700

-

Creepy Coffin

500

-

Creepy Crystal

2000

-

Creepy Floor

500

-

Creepy Skeleton

2000

-

Creepy Statue

500

-

Creepy Stone

500

-

Creepy Wall

500

-

Jack-in-the-box

-

400

Lollipop

100

-

Old Flooring

-

400

Old Wallpaper

-

400

Patched Dress

-

400

Patched Hat

-

400

Patched Pants

-

400

Patched Shirt

-

400

Patched Shoes

-

400

Pumpkin Head

1000

-

Green-Pumpkin Head

1000

-

Purple-Pumpkin Head

1000

-

Red-Pumpkin Head

1000

-

Yellow-Pumpkin Head

1000

-

Yes, after all that effort, the Halloween exclusive items aren't very profitable. Even the ones that Reese will pay you for aren't worth too much. Worse still, out of all the items that are available exclusively during Halloween night, everything but the Pumpkin Head cannot be re-ordered from the Nooklings.

Do you think we'd leave you only with bad news at the end of a guide? Fear not, we have a Bell saving tip. Build a trash can as a Public Works Project or buy a trash can furniture item to place in your house. Both are a quick and easy way to dispose of your items for free!